Intersex Stories: Not Surgeries | How the Medical Industrial Complex Has Violated the Rights of Intersex People

Three intersex people of color come together, on the eve of Intersex Awareness Day (IAD), to encourage those in attendance to grapple with the ways in which the Medical Industrial Complex (MIC) has consistently forgotten the first tenet of the Hippocratic Oath – “First, Do No Harm” – when it comes to marginalized communities. While the MIC’s history is tattered with ableism, racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, this presentation will specifically highlight the ways in which it has violated intersex people’s human rights.

For over a century, intersex people have had no voice in their medical “care” and “treatment”, which has led to dire consequences. Key events throughout intersex history will be introduced to help the community understand why intersex activists across the globe have united to demand intersex bodily autonomy and justice.